Angelo di Cielo
by Masami Kyoko
Summary: Eru who had lost her family and her memories, decided to embark on a journey as a shepherd. After she woke up from a nap, she found herself not with her sheep but in the residence of a boy of similar age, Fianne. She grew protective and punched Fianne who only intended to invite her for a dinner. Through various of events, Eru learned to trust people she met along her journey.


**ANGELO di CIELO**

**Chapter 1- That Girl**

There lived a little girl who had lost everything precious to her. She was alone in the dark place we called a 'world'; hanging onto vague memories of flames and shadows. Although clinging onto those memories hurt her and might cause her more pain, it was all she had. She became a mute as a result of her horrible past. Fortunately, she managed to survive because of the sacrifice her parents made.

Eru no longer wanted to be weak and she knew there were chances of her being hunted for surviving that day;which was why she took on the appearance of a boy. It was an attempt to forget the only memory she was frightened of, and the only memory she had.

She lived and survived as a traveling shepherd since three years ago,which made her fifteen years old as of now. She traveled in the rich Cielo Kingdom with Kruptos as the headquarters. The kingdom was rich with green prairies, forests, lakes and caves.

There were several big towns and many small villages scattered all over the Kingdom.

Ever since the 12th King, Dicessimo di Imperatore inherited the throne, there was barely any peace in the kingdom; everything was chaotic. With the utmost unreasonable reasons, the imperial army threatened to destroy small villages. To protect their village, each and every single one of the residents there had to either wield weapons or learn martial arts while some of them could only bribe in order to survive the ordeal which seemed imminent for them.

The weather was neither hot nor cold; it was warm as it was spring. At a certain point of the panoramic view in Mirie prairie laid a person. The said person wore a long sleeved white shirt and knee length brown pants with suspenders attached to them. Her skin was a medium shade of beige.

Eru who had came from afar and had just arrived at the prairie had fallen asleep under the cooling shade of a tree with her brown hat as a shelter from the sun's rays which pierced forcefully through the small gaps between leaves. The sheep around the prairie which belonged to her ate away the grass greedily, but Eru wasn't roused from her nap by their movements. Instead, a nightmare from her past wrenched her out of her slumber to reality

Her black long hair which she hid in her hat came off as she sat up in surprise. Her sapphire eyes were opened wide due to the shock. Her lips parted to wheeze as cold perspiration ran down her cheeks and neck. Her chest went up and down continuously as she gasped for air. She reached for her necklace hidden underneath layers of cloth and held it tightly as if it could ease the emotions running through her.

It had a round glass attached to its chain; and inside it was a miniature feather. No matter how simple and mundane it may seem, it was precious to her.

_My past . . . _Eru thought, _I shouldn't be thinking about that – I should be thinking of my next destination instead. _After a few minutes, she calmed down. She then tied her hair up and kept it up in her hat. She decided to succumb to her exhaustion and fell asleep again.

A while later, a boy about her age named Fianne coincidentally passed by the prairie. His skin was porcelain white without any freckles. His eyes were a charming emerald which perfectly matched his shoulder length blonde hair. A teardrop-shaped violet earring was hanging on his left ear, glittering when it made contact with the warm sunlight.

He wore a scowl on his face, as if he had gotten into a quarrel before he came to the prairie. He was dressed in a long sleeved white shirt which matched with his simple long black pants. His shirt wasn't neat with the front of the shirt untucked from his pants but he didn't seem to care about it.

He spotted Eru and had taken a penchant on her. He walked towards the sleeping girl.

"What's he doing here?" Fianne's emerald eyes stared at her curiously before realizing that her herd was escaping. He assumed he should chase after the sheep so that he could earn a hint of respect from Eru, so he rolled his eyes and proceeded. By the time Fianne arrived there, a black dog with two white dots on its front neck was already trying to lead the sheep back.

Fianne heard a growl as he pulled on the collar of one of the sheep. When he turned his back, he noticed the dog was glaring menacingly at him.

_It must be thinking that I' m trying to steal the sheep. Well, I'll just have to pull those sheep together and– _ Fianne felt a threat, the warning coursed through his spine suddenly, and it could only come from the dog. He hurriedly leaped away from the sheep he was with. The dog growled again and jumped towards him, trying to bite him.

"It really thinks that I'm trying to steal the sheep!" He dodged the dog's sudden attack. The dog continued to charge at Fianne fiercely before Fianne noticed the sheep had gone farther and stepped back from the struggle.

"W-wait! The sheep are getting farther. I'll settle this with you later, buddy! For now, let's cooperate." Fianne pointed towards the sheep. Surprisingly, the dog understood what he said; they ran separate ways towards the sheep.

At Fianne's case, the sheep bleated and he finally realized that he was hurting them. Fianne managed to lead the sheep by patting their backs.

It was already evening by the time Fianne and the dog had gathered all the sheep. He scolded at how Eru took care of her sheep even though she was still asleep.

He sighed before he thought he couldn't possibly leave her alone there. He assumed she had no food with her when he saw a small bag beside her and thus, Fianne decided to carry her to his residence.

"I'm back!" Fianne yelled out as he kicked the door open to a simple wooden house in which all the furniture were made from wood. The door led guests directly to the living room which was also linked to the dining room and kitchen at the west side. Simply said, they were all in the same room without any wall to separate them.

There was a well made dining table with the capacity of seating six people. Further to the left; stuck on the wall were two traditional brick stoves with big woks on it, and to the right of these stoves there was also a kitchen cupboard to keep the ingredients.

At the east of the whole room was the living room with two benches and a rather low table in the middle.

Fianne's mother, a lady named Teresh had waited for his return. She had the same porcelain white skin and blonde hair. Her medium length hair was tied in a low ponytail, precisely a few inches from the edge of her hair, letting the upper hair loose yet so neat that not a strand of hair was separated from the group. Her layered bangs were divided to two sides; parted in the middle, reaching her jawline. She wore a simple white dress with its length stopping below her knees, matching with an antique fuchsia colored blazer with elbow-length sleeves.

"Welcome back! Seriously, how could you storm off just because I forgot your dinner!" Teresh pursed her lips and formed a pout although it disappeared when she stood up from her seat and found some unexpected guests.

"Who is that you're carrying? And what about this dog?" she asked as she moved closer to see the guests for herself.

"I don't know. He fell asleep below a tree and left his sheep scattered around at Mirie Prairie. I'm assuming this is his dog, and I've also brought his sheep to the pen." He twitched his eyebrow as he placed Eru on the bench. Teresh looked closely at Eru and an idea to tease her son came to her mind.

"Awww.. you're so cute! But my 'daughter' is better." Teresh remarked mischievously, smirking. Fianne's eyebrows twitched in irritation as he tried to endure the teasing.

Fianne and his mom had made a bet on a game once; the one who lost the bet would have to dress up in clothes of the opposite gender. Unfortunately, Teresh had cheated because she wanted to see Fianne in a dress she had made. She loved to tease him about his perfect face which seemed quite 'feminine and pretty'.

Teresh often felt the necessity to use such a pretty face to fool others at times just for her own amusement. The game had ended as planned and Fianne lost. No matter how many times they bet on the game, a loss was an expected outcome; and he turned out so gorgeous that one could mistake Fianne for a 'she'. It was exactly why Teresh would call him 'daughter' just to confuse the people around them.

"Could you please stop that? You have been calling me 'daughter' for years! Especially in public!" Fianne shouted in frustration. Teresh chuckled in satisfaction for she loved the cute frown on his face.. Fianne sat heavily into his chair as he gave an irritated sigh.

". . . Ever since Fae left" He muttered under his breath.

Eru's sapphire eyes snapped open, and further widened by the shout. To her surprise, she noticed her sheep were out of sight. Eru took a long glance at her surroundings.

"Glad you're awake. Not to worry; your sheep are in the pen behind this house; though I think I have a score to settle with your dog." Fianne said as he glanced at the dog which was sitting obediently beside its master. Eru calmed down the second she knew her sheep were fine; they were her source of income after all.

Fianne took a step towards her, intending to invite her to have dinner with them. However, what he received wasn't an answer. A punch hit him square in the face at full force and sent him flying. Not expecting that reaction from someone he thought he had helped, he nearly lost his balance and almost hit the floor but his left leg was strong enough to maintain his footing.

"Never let down your guards to strangers . . . huh?" Fianne said as he grinned in irritation. His face was red; it looked as if it would swell up any second. Teresh was impressed at the harsh and sudden attack. She didn't move an inch from her spot, silently watching them as she took a sip of her tea.

"This is the first time I've seen someone who is as brave as you." Fianne commented, holding back with all his might for he knew that the girl had no where to go.

"There have been several bandits around here recently. They rule the night in Mirie prairie. Once you step out of this house, you're as good as dead." Fianne said as he walked towards Eru, intending to invite her once again.

_I'm completely at a loss. What is he thinking? _Fianne thought.

Eru had just arrived that afternoon and knew nothing about bandits. Seeing Fianne's irritated expression, she assumed he wasn't very trust-worthy. When Fianne walked near enough, she pulled his hand with a great force and wheeled pass him. In a crouching stance, she took out a short knife and sent it flying. Precisely when Fianne turned his back to let off his anger at her, the short knife flew past his left ear and stuck on the wooden wall. Eru regained her standing posture and turned her eyes on Fianne to make sure he didn't move; not even an inch closer to her.

"Y-you… damn brat!" Fianne enraged. Before he could lecture her, Teresh cut in and stopped their fight.

"Right~! Stop, we mean no harm to you." Teresh assured. "You were asleep under a tree at Mirie prairie. We were merely trying to help you. Why don't you stay a night here and continue your journey tomorrow?" she said.

"I agree. But, instead of sipping your tea, and watching our fight, why didn't you stop us earlier? You could have explained to him that we mean no harm!" Fianne shouted. Eru nodded as she felt she could trust them a bit more now.

"I thought it'd be cooler like this." Teresh said with a pout.

"Cooler? What are you, a 16 years old trying to act smart and heroic? Mom! You're 39!" Fianne shouted.

"Anyway let's have dinner. I'm hungry." Teresh digressed, ignoring Fianne completely.

They had their dinner with a tensed silence. Fianne was glaring at Eru, while Eru ate silently but quickly as she overlooked the glare. Teresh simply couldn't stand the silence.

"A-anyway, what's your name? Since you are staying a night here, it's better to introduce ourselves and get to know each other! I'm Teresh, this boy's mother."

"I'm Fianne. Thanks a lot for the punch." Fianne said with a straight face. Eru took out a sketch book and wrote on it "My name is Eru. 15 years old"

_Eru? 'That' Eru? _Teresh thought without a change of her expression.

"And this dog is Geon. Sorry for the inconvenience. I'm mute." Eru continued on her book. Fianne and Teresh didn't expect her to be mute. Eru thought it'd be better to tell them to prevent any misunderstandings for not responding.

After the dinner, Fianne took some change of clothes for Eru from his belongings. When he got back he found Eru had fallen asleep with her head and arms on the dining table. Geon slept on the floor next to the chair where its master was.

_What a sleepy head . . ._ Fianne sighed.

"Hey, at least take a bath before you sleep. You might catch a cold sleeping here you know." He told her; face scrunched as if the bruise was draining his energy out of him. He sounded a little gibberish because of the bruise.

_I'm sure he must be very angry._ Eru thought while she shifted her seat as if she refused the offer. _It's useless to apologize when he's in bad mood._ This attitude made Fianne slightly angry and he walked to the bathroom with a rather fierce expression.

"Alright! Fine!" Fianne yelled out at her and with that, he was gone.

Behind a wooden-house in Mirie garden, was a hot spring. It was surrounded by wood as wall and outside was tall grass. The round silver moon illuminated the night. Fianne stood firmly and silently inside the pool of water with his eyes closed.

Fianne hit and splashed the water in annoyance. He couldn't get over the matter and the fact that he had helped someone, had been doubted and punched rather than gratified.

"Why is that guy so stubborn? 'One good turn deserves another' my foot!" He grunted in frustration. "My good intentions were ruined! Now it looks like I'm the villain here!" He sighed as he took a few breaths. Despite being punched by Eru, he didn't blame her for what she had done to him. He continued to wonder about Eru, and calmed himself down in the bath.  
He knew he shouldn't prejudice someone like how he was doing, but he was just trying to help her. He was not good with words. However, he couldn't understand why she had punched him. He pondered by himself beneath the water for a while. Despite spending quite a lot of time in the bath, his efforts to calm himself were to no avail.

Eru had been waiting beside the door towards the hot spring. She barged in as soon as she saw Fianne leaving. Fianne although not wanting to complain, he couldn't control himself and he began to feel enraged once again.

Before walking towards his room upstairs, Fianne saw a small book with a prairie picture on its cover. He took an interest to the unprecedented book; his curiosity beckoned him towards it. He knew he shouldn't be reading it but he subconsciously walked nearer to take a look. His eyes widened as he read. It was written about the flames and shadowed memories Eru had.

"T-this is…." He muttered with devouring eyes.

"Hm? What are you reading, Fianne? You have such a ridiculous face on!" Teresh said as she chuckled, noticing Fianne's widened eyes. Fianne barged in the spring with the book in his hand.

"Hey-!" Fianne exclaimed, but silence followed after he lost his words. His eyes were wider than before, when he realized his face instantly turned red. He saw something he never had expected; or rather something he should not have set eyes upon?

The fair skin, the long black silky hair, the wet white towel that covered the flesh, the curvy figure and the bright moon were all perfect. His expression changed all of a sudden when he spotted 'something' else.

A pair of hazy transparent broken wings and a scar which formed a symbol on Eru's back. He rubbed his eyes and wondered if his eyes were fooling him. When he took a glance to confirm that his eyes weren't fooling him, he was relieved for he didn't see any trace of the strange broken wings.

The girl sensed a presence and immediately splashed water on Fianne to distract his attention. Before Fianne had any chance to explain, he had a small knife on his neck. Eru's speed remained unhindered by her long black hair, which reached down to her knees; and she managed to reach Fianne in less than a minute. Eru shot a menacing look at Fianne and he knew; it meant he would have to keep quiet about the situation. As quickly as it started, Fianne got kicked out of the spring soon after.

Fianne's mind was entirely blank, unable to think straight at that moment. He kept thinking about what he had just seen or rather what he experienced, however he couldn't clear his mind enough to make sense out of it until Eru came out of the spring with her hair wrapped in a towel.

_'He' IS A WOMAN?_ Fianne thought as he gaped at her appearance. Eru took off the towel on her head and put it on his head as if to ask him to dry up. She sat beside him and wrote, "As you have read from the book. I lost my memory. And the only memory I remember are the flames and shadows."

"What are your intentions? How will you survive with your sheep? Are you short on finances? Do you need any help?" Fianne asked all at once out of blue without any hesitation. He could be talkative and mother-like after all.

Eru ended up gaping at his words. She never really planned anything during her journey, neither did she think about her own desire. This was the first time someone bothered to ask of her intention. She just wanted to find out who ambushed her family – but in the mean time, she could only travel aimlessly and train herself with her dog, Geon, which was soundly asleep.

"You might end up with more scars and bruises if you keep asking, Fianne." Teresh teased Fianne as she approached them and passed two glasses of hot milk to the both of them.

"Mom, 'he' is …a woman" a faint blush appeared on Fianne's cheeks, as he remembered what he saw back in the spring. Teresh nodded, saying she knew that since the beginning. Fianne jumped in surprise for his mom didn't tell him something he should have known.

"What? You actually knew from the start? MOM!" Fianne cried in anger. Teresh wasn't bothered by his explosion; in her eyes, Fianne's anger was a relief for her stress and her worry as well. It proved that he was alright.

"I thought it'd be fun if I didn't tell you. Well, let bygones be bygones, and forget it; I'm turning in for tonight. Good night!" she said as she left them, a smile pulling on the corners of her lips.

The calm atmosphere changed into something more tense once Teresh left them.

"I saw a scar on your back. Where did you get it?" Fianne asked, making several guesses mentally.

"It is a symbol of a possession, isn't it?" He knew the scar he had seen was a personal secret. Fianne then asked Eru to stay for few more days, as he supposed that she was being hunted; it seemed like Eru had neither choice nor a place to go to, so she agreed to stay.


End file.
